Are Prescription Drugs Overprescribed?

When drugs are patent-protected, pharmaceutical companies enjoy a monopoly where they can set prices to include high profit margins. Since there are few to no substitutes for their products during this time, customers have little choice but to pay these prices, especially if their lives depend on the drugs. However, once cheaper, generic versions of the drugs become available, buyers gain more power. Patients’ switching costs, an important element in determining the bargaining power of buyers, are fairly low, and price-sensitive buyers will likely switch to generic versions once available. Johnson & Johnson’s main tool in combating this problem is its strong brand name. Many customers have more trust in brand name products and are willing to pay extra for this perceived security.

"In the past two decades or so, health care has been commercialized as never before, and professionalism in medicine seems to be giving way to entrepreneurialism," commented Arnold S. Relman, professor of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School (Wekesser 66). This statement may have a great deal of bearing on reality. The tangled knot of insurers, physicians, drug companies, and hospitals that we call our health system are not as unselfish and focused on the patients' needs as people would like to think. Pharmaceutical companies are particularly ruthless, many of them spending millions of dollars per year to convince doctors to prescribe their drugs and to convince consumers that their specific brand of drug is needed in

We in America tend to take medications for almost any problem we have, from headaches to gastrointestinal pain, to more serious chronic disorders such as depression and attention deficit disorder. While many of the uses of such medications may be necessary and legitimate, many are not, and due to this fact, many people become dependent on medications, mentally, and or physically. This problem is not simply the fault of the individual; in fact, the blame can also be placed upon the medical community, and the pharmaceutical companies who produce the drugs. How often can one turn on the television to see advertisements for Claritin, Aspirin, Pepto-Bismol, or even Zoloft or Ritalin? The pharmaceutical industry is motivated by monetary

In the modern age of technological and medical advancements such as organ transplants and robotic limbs, Americans have developed unrealistic expectations about prescription drugs. The false belief that the right pill in the right dosage can cure all has led to a national epidemic: over prescription. Since the 1970s, the average American’s expenditure on prescription drugs has doubled because not only are new treatments for almost every ailment now available, but they are also aggressively advertised on television, the internet, and social media. At the same time that the American population confronts health issues associated with rising age, obesity, and stress levels, prescription drugs promise a quick fix for everything from depression to acne to insomnia leading to a one pill fix all.

Many patients are finding it more difficult to afford their prescription medications. Comparing health care expenditures in the United States, prescription drug costs rank third compared to hospital expenses and physician services (Omojasola, Hernandez, Sansgiry, & Jones, 2012, p. 479). The rising cost of prescription drugs is concerning to many patients. “The high out-of-pocket prescription drug cost is associated with medication non-adherence and adverse health outcomes” Omojasola, et al., 2012, p. 480).

Not only are patients impacted by this issue, but so is the healthcare system. Consumer reports estimates that “$200 billion per year is spent in the U.S. on the unnecessary and improper use of medication, for the drugs themselves and related medical costs, according to the market research firm IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics” (Carr, T. 2017). America’s health care is very expensive and we can save

People all over the world, continue to be tendered prescription medication, which in many cases further complicate health issues with its myriad of side effects. In fact, statistics have shown that approximately 100,000 people around the world die as a result of prescription drugs annually (Smith, 2012). On the contrary, according

The rise in costs of prescription medicines affects all sectors of the health care industry, including private insurers, public programs, and patients. Spending on prescription drugs continues to be an important health care concern, particularly in light of rising pharmaceutical costs, the aging population, and increased use of costly specialty drugs. In recent history, increases in prescription drug costs have outpaced other categories of health care spending, rising rapidly throughout the latter half of the 1990s and early 2000s. (Kaiseredu.org, 2012).

Are prescription drugs overprescribed? Are patients being prescribed the correct medications that they actually need? Are generic drugs doing the same for the human body that marked up brand name medications are? These are some of the public’s biggest questions that can be easily answered by research. Everyone is affected by medication and healthcare in general today. Many real life scenarios are offered throughout this writing to support the argument. The following thesis statement is a worldwide problem. Unfortunately, the United States has the largest problem with inflation of drug cost and over-prescription of medications. Many people are to blame: drug manufacturers, insurers, prescribers, educators, and many others. A change is needed.

When it comes to prescriptions, people ask: what are prescription drugs? Who benefits from prescription drugs and why are prescription drugs important to society? Throughout a person’s entire life, prescription drugs absorb the body and whether the issue is for headaches, cramps, or sickness, prescriptions is there to make a person feel better. Moreover, different types of prescription drugs treat different types of illnesses or reduce the symptoms. However, people do better toughing it out than taking a prescribed drug. A person who has a cold and is taking a prescribed drug has a higher risk of a disease while another person who has a cold and is not taking a prescription drug does not. Due to the issues, prescription drugs need to reform

Polypharmacy is the use of multiple medications in one individual and usually refers to when more drugs are being taken than medically necessary. According to the article, many factors contribute to the development of polypharmacy including “new drug treatments, wider indications for older drug treatments, lower thresholds for treating risk factors in preventative medicine, and an ageing population with increased amounts of chronic illness or physical ailments” (Gorard, 2006). The elderly appear to be an especially vulnerable population to this issue and are the prime target for increased prescribing practices. Unfortunately, polypharmacy is responsible for many severe adverse drug events, drug-drug interactions, and contributes to problems with nonadherence amongst older adults.

Imagine yourself walking down the aisle of your pharmacy like Rite Aid, CVS, or Walmart. You have been suffering from some headaches and you want to get some pain killers. As you reach for you a box of Extra Strength Tylenol (also known as Acetaminophen) that costs $8.95 , you spot a bottle of Equate Extra Strength Acetaminophen for only $41. Not only is this generic store brand less than half the price of Tylenol, it also had double the product! You mind wavers on which capsules to buy. Does the lower cost of generic indicate a lack of effectiveness compared to Tylenol? Or are generics created equally to brand name medications, but the cost of brands is driven up due to their marketing? Should doctors prescribe generics as an option for patients that are covered little or not covered at all by insurance? In the essay, we are going to put an end to the Generic vs Brand war.

Many patients use over-the-counter medication in order to improve their health and reduce any potential risks. There are many reasons why over-the-counter medications are essential to the public. Such reasons include the accessibility, cost, and the overall effects that the medication provides. However, anyone can buy these medications which leads to the improper use and management that could happen. This lack of understanding could potentially harm the patient and also increase the chances of hospitalization if there is a severe problem. What can be done to avoid these type of situations is by talking to the pharmacist or pharmacy student under supervision. These healthcare professionals are able to give the community a better sense of the over-the-counter medication by counseling on the purpose of the medication, way of administration, and the unwanted side effects. Through education and communication, pharmacists can improve the wellbeing of their patients.

Currently, generic drug plays an important role in the pharmaceutical industry. A generic drug is a type of drugs which are nearly a copy of brand drug. When a brand drug is approved, the branded company will have drug patents to protect the new drugs from being copied for twenty years. Generic manufacturers may copy the drug formula and change some of the ingredients of the drugs and sell them after twenty years. Generic drugs have now been commonly used to be prescribed to patients (Razmaria & Aria, 2016). Generic drugs are known for its low price. Patients may come across the choice between generic drugs and brand drugs. While acknowledging there is a considerable amount of debates concerning generic substitution, this essay holds the view that generic drugs should

The growing costs of prescription drugs affect the patients who receive them and the doctors who prescribe them. For example, prescription drug costs can vary widely between name-brand and generic medicine. Administrators need to understand not only the